Thursday, April 19, 2012

Last week we kicked off our weekly KWAV's meetings with our annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was a blast! The kids got to participate in relay races, a fun time of music, hearing the Easter story and a massive egg hunt. At the end of the egg hunt, we had a giant basket out for the kids to donate some of their eggs to The Shalimar Learning Center. It is always fun to see how the kids exercise this option. Some of the kids gave all their eggs. Some gave a few. But, everyone gave.

This week we started off our time with a "Jump Over The River" competition. This has very quickly become a KWAV's favorite. The kids are wild about this game. I cannot believe how far these kids can jump. (Just in case you are wondering what this game looks like - it is so easy and so fun for the kids. You simply need two jump ropes or two ropes to use. You place the ropes parallel to each other about 2 feet apart and the kids all line up and one at a time will jump the "river" between the two ropes. After all the kids have gone you make the river wider by moving one of the ropes. The kids continue to jump and are eliminated when one of their feet touch any part of the rope. The last one to jump the river is the winner!)

We learned about a few parables that Jesus taught. The main focus was on the parable of the Talents, and we spent quite a bit of time talking about what it looks like to use our talents for good. It was really a treat to hear the kids identify what they know they are good at and how they can use that to be a blessing.

We also kicked off a new tradition in our time together. We have a giant jar called "The Blessing Jar". And, in this jar are many slips of paper with little missions to bless others in our community. Some examples:

Write your neighbors a note on their driveway with chalk telling them why you love them.

Bake a treat and deliver it to someone you know needs a boost.

Leave coins taped to the vending machine.

Make dinner for someone who could use it.

Sweep a neighbors porch.

You get the picture. This week the chosen mission is:

"Play with children who are younger than you. Encourage them!"

So, all our KWAV's kids have been sent out on this mission for the week. They are going to practice exercising generosity by being extra patient with the "littles" in their lives. These could be neighbors, younger siblings, or a child they meet at the park.

And, here's the twist - we are commissioning all the parents to act as spies - be on the look out for kids on a mission. Snap a photo if you can, and please share it with us!

We have gotten very fancy and set up a FACEBOOK Page to help make this super easy! You can simply share the photo of your child in action on our KWAV's Facebook page.

We have already spied our sweet first grade Megan lovingly playing with our KWAV's mascot and preschooler Ella for two hours while their older brothers were playing baseball. We love seeing love in action!